This Dance We Do
by Ardin
Summary: When Kate's evening takes a negative turn, Gibbs is there to help her through. KIBBS.
1. Chapter 1

**This Dance We Do** By: Ardin

Disclaimer: I am a poor college student and since I just paid rent, bought the various pieces of my Halloween costume (they won't let us wear our uniforms, how lame is that) and paid back a small loan from my brother, I don't have very much of anything to my name let alone an awesome TV show. It all belongs to Bellisario et al. The story is mine and thats about it.

Spoilers: Not really. General show knowledge I guess.

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He couldn't believe that he had forgotten to grab the case file when he had left earlier that evening. Well actually he could believe it. Kate had been in an unusually good mood all day and her constant smiles had been a huge distraction. She was so beautiful when she smiled, and all the rest of the time, he mused as the elevator doors opened and he stepped out into the bullpen.

He instantly felt that something was wrong, but a quick look around showed him nothing out of the ordinary. It wasn't until he'd stepped around the divider into his team's section that he saw her. Her knees pulled up to her chest, makeup smeared down her face, her shoes on the ground by the desk. She had obviously been crying, but that wasn't the first thing that caught his attention. Rather it was the fact that she was sitting not behind her desk, but behind his.

Gibbs could tell from the tensing of her shoulders and the barely noticeable shifting in her posture that she knew he was there. However she made no attempt to move or make excuses for her position. It was this fact above all that made him worry. Striding quickly around his desk he crouched beside her, bringing his face low enough that he could catch her eyes.

"Hey." His tone was gentle and sweet, something she'd never heard from him and his eyes questioned hers: _what's wrong_? His very kindness just brought back her entire evening up and tears once again pooled in her eyes. When she first heard him arrive she had hoped that he would make some smart-ass comment, giving her the opportunity to leave with out truly explaining herself. Instead, his obvious concern opened the flood gates and before she could stop herself she had choked out the answer to his unasked question.

"We were supposed to go out tonight, but he called…and said he had to work late. I…I could…hear her in the background, he wasn't at work…he…" Her voice trailed off as sobs ripped through her. She regained control quickly though and when she spoke next her voice had an edge of determination. "Doesn't matter. He's an ass. I just didn't want to go home, so I came here."

Gibbs smiled very slightly and took the rise in her mood as an opportunity to joke. "And is your chair broken?" He grinned at her slight blush and it widened at her smooth cover line.

"No, but your screen saver is better." She smiled cheekily up at him before bringing her knees away from her body and standing. Gibbs marveled at the speed with which she seemed to be getting over what had happened, but his amazement vanished as he saw her frown as she slid on her shoes. When she looked back at him she couldn't quite cover the sadness in her eyes.

Stepping slightly closer to her, he waited until she was looking directly into his eyes. "Kate, forget about him. He's a bastard if this is how…" He trailed off with a shrug.

Her eyes sparkled slightly as she responded, "No. He's not. You're the only bastard I know." Her voice was even and betrayed neither humor nor anger and he was unnerved by his inability to read her.

Raising his eyebrows at her, he gave a self-deprecating laugh before replying. "Gee, thanks."

This time when she spoke her voice was soft and full of a genuine affection he didn't understand. "Your welcome." Her eyes seemed to read his every thought and he would have put every nickel he had on her being able to see, at that moment, the same affection reflected in his own eyes.

Without consciously thinking about it he raised a hand and deftly wiped the last of her smeared make-up off her cheeks. Her eyes closed halfway as she leaned her face into his open palm. The intimacy of the move seemed to startle him and he let go, stepping quickly out her personal space. She nodded her head gently and gave him a vaguely disappointed smile. As she reached to pick up her purse from the desktop, an idea came to him. Moving to block her escape path he gave her a large grin.

"How about I take you out in his place? We can grab dinner, or see a movie. Whatever you were already planning." As he asked, he couldn't help himself as his gaze slid down her body. The simple black dress hung from two very thin straps and clung to her curves in all the right places, ending just below the knee. His heart rate sped up fractionally as he forced his focus back to her face.

She gave him a shy smile, having noticed his wandering eyes and very much enjoying his obvious interest. "Whatever we were planning?" She asked in a slightly mischievous tone.

"Yeah. Come on, it will be fun." He stressed the word fun as though trying as much to convince himself as her. "I'll see the latest chick flick, or we can eat a ridiculously priced meal, whatever." While he wasn't actually convinced that he would enjoy doing either of those things, he was more than willing to make the sacrifice to see her happy and the added bonus of spending a night out with her didn't hurt. Her next words almost convinced him otherwise.

"We were going to take dance lessons." She tried desperately to contain her laughter as his face paled a shade or two. She didn't quite succeed as he stumbled back slightly, a look of pain plastered across his face. Her giggles seemed to bring him back and he smiled as he shook his head lightly. She reached out a reassuring hand and laid it gently on his chest. "It's okay, we can grab dinner instead."

He looked down at her hand and it seemed to cement his resolve. "Nope. I said we'd do whatever you had planned, so we'll do whatever you have planned. So, dancing it is I guess." Placing his hand over hers, he wrapped his fingers around it giving a squeeze before releasing it and letting it drop back to her side. "Just hold on a second." He moved around her, making no effort not to brush against her as he did so. Opening his filing cabinet he pulled out a clean, white shirt and a dark red tie.

She watched out of the corner of her eye as he stripped to his white undershirt before pulling on and buttoning the new shirt and carefully tying his tie. Shrugging his black jacket back on, he turned back to her. Holding his arms out at his sides, he waited for her approval. Tilting her head to the side she took the rare opportunity to admire him. Deciding she'd made him wait long enough, she stepped up to him and gently centered his tie. Smoothing her hand down his chest, she smiled up at him and nodded.

Breaking the tender moment he gestured for her to lead the way. She sighed lightly, having been secretly hoping that he would do something about the myriad of emotions that had played across his face when she had touched him. Her disappointment faded as she felt his hand take up a firm position on her lower back as they stepped into the elevator.

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**A/N**: There are other chapters in the works I promise, but I'm also trying to work out a KIBBS Halloween story and I want that one done by Halloween so it takes precedence. It's just a one-shot so hopefully it will be up soon.

And for those, like my beta, who don't understand how it's possible to affectionately refer to someone as a bastard, well I don't really know what to tell you other than that you obviously don't have the same kind of friends I do.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: **I don't really have anything specific to tell you guys about this chapter, so this is just a thank you for all of the people who have read and reviewed. And for the couple people who didn't understand the affectionate bastard thing I've had some help putting together a short explanation. Basically, it's an exceptance thing and totally not limited to the word bastard. You're saying "you ARE rude, grouchy, and a pain-in-the-ass, but I've learned to take that as part of you and except that your good qualities more than make up for those little things. It gives you character." If that's not enough for you doubters, I'm sorry, but you can blame my favorite jackass. He knows who he is.

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The elevator ride down to the parking garage was silent as both Kate and Gibbs tried to sort through their own internal monologues.

Gibbs was trying to figure out exactly why he had agreed to this little trip. Dancing had never been his thing, so much so that none of his wives had made any inroads to getting him to learn. Yet here he was, not only agreeing to, but rather insisting, that they go out dancing. His conscious mind struggled to understand why. Past relationships had proved that the attraction he felt to Kate should not have been enough to get him to take dance lessons, and that was only one of many reasons his mind tossed at him. But buried deep in his subconscious the truth prevailed: he wasn't just attracted to Kate; he was well and truly in love with her. There was no way that he could possibly stand to see her hurting like she had earlier. Telling himself to ignore the why and do the best he could to enjoy the fact; he gave her a small, genuine smile.

Kate's thinking was far less complicated. She was well aware that she was in love with Gibbs and that she had been for quite awhile. She'd pushed the feeling to the back of her heart and mind, though, thoroughly convinced that he would never feel the same way for her and not entirely convinced that it was worth risking what had become a very meaningful friendship. However, that thinking had changed when he found her in the office tonight. His obvious concern and the emotions she'd read in his eyes during their conversation earlier, had given her hope that maybe he felt something for her as well. And what had happened with Brian when he'd called to cancel had just cemented it in her mind. It hadn't been the breaking up that had upset her, but rather the cheating. She wasn't even all that surprised about the relationship ending; she'd never been able to fully commit to him since she found it impossible not to compare every other man she met to Gibbs. When Gibbs smiled down at her, she blushed and gave a small smile back. She was going to take the risk - slowly and without doing anything to scare him away - but she was going to see if something could exist between her and her enigmatic boss.

Despite the decisions that had been silently made on both sides, the car drive was almost as quiet as the elevator trip had been. All attempts at conversation seemed to fail spectacularly as they tried to find a common ground outside of work. Gibbs drove carefully, making an effort to not speed as he was so prone to doing. Every few seconds he would shoot a glance over at Kate, and each time he was amazed by just how beautiful she looked. She could feel his eyes on her at frequent intervals and couldn't help but return the glances.

It wasn't until they were only a few blocks from the dance studio that the tension was finally broken. After their eyes had met and locked briefly three or four times, each event resulting in blushes on both sides and hastily resumed face-forward postures, Kate could no longer stand the ridiculous tension and burst into laughter.

"This is stupid." Gibbs confusion just made her laugh harder and it was several seconds before she spoke again. "We are perfectly capable of having conversations at work, but the second we're out of the Navy Yard we lack the ability to connect two words together. It's insane." She giggled again and just as they were pulling into the parking lot, the full force of it all seemed to hit Gibbs.

He chuckled lightly and nodded his head in silent agreement to try harder for a bit of normalcy. Getting out, he moved to the other side of the car to assist her and as she stood to her full height their eyes locked again. Unlike in the car, though, neither made any attempt to pull their gazes away and the moment was only broken almost a minute later by the sound of another car pulling into the lot. Giving her a wide-mouthed grin, Gibbs offered his arm and escorted her up the stairs and into the studio.

Their mutual agreement to just have fun and ignore some of the weirdness of it all held throughout the evening. During the fifteen minutes before the class actually began, they found it increasingly comfortable to talk not just to each other but to the other "couples" as well. Kate was getting more and more into the idea of dancing as the seconds ticked by, but Gibbs still wondered exactly what he'd done in his last lifetime that prevented him from having agreed to take her to dinner. After mingling slightly with the 12 other people present, they found themselves chatting animatedly to the only other pair who weren't completely enraptured with their current situation.

Mark and Stacy Goldsmith were a brother and sister from the D.C. area who were taking the lessons in preparation for their parents vow renewal the next month. Neither was particularly pleased with the idea, but had agreed to make the sacrifice for their mother, who had requested they be prepared for at least one formal dance. The four of them talked comfortably together for several minutes and Kate and Stacy had just agreed to swap numbers and get together for lunch some time when the dance instructor called them all out onto the floor.

The dancing itself was not nearly as bad as Gibbs had imagined it would be. Having never had any sense of rhythm that he was aware of, he was amazed at how easily the steps came. Apparently years of unarmed combat training had given him a decent sense of coordination that passed over to dancing. Kate caught on to all of it faster than he did, but was more than willing to talk him through the more complicated bits. He was impressed that she could do so without making him feel like a child or a moron. For Gibbs though the ultimate positive in favor of the lessons was that he got to hold Kate in his arms. And when the instructor announced at the end of the evening that the second class in the series would be the next week at the same time, Gibbs willingly admitted to himself that it would be worth it to be able to continue holding her. Out loud he said nothing as they exited the studio and moved back towards his car.

"I'll take you back to the yard so that you can get your car." His words were light and he was pretty sure they betrayed none of his desire for the evening to continue.

"Actually, I took a taxi to the office, so I can just call one from here. Thanks though." She reached for her purse to find her phone, but a strong yet gentle hand on her wrist stopped the motion. Looking up into his eyes, she was slightly startled by how close he was to her.

"Let me take you home." He had meant it to come out as a simple statement, but instead his tone was almost pleading as he stroked his thumb subconsciously over the inside of her wrist. Unable to speak with his gaze and touch on her, Kate nodded lightly before averting her eyes from his. Letting go he opened the car door and helped her in before moving to his own side and starting the car.

The drive to her place was nowhere near as uncomfortable as the one to the studio had been. They found themselves easily conversing on a number of different topics and both were more than a little disappointed when Gibbs pulled up outside her apartment building. She had expected him to wish her a goodnight from the car and trust her to make it the short distance on her own, but instead he escorted her into the building, up a flight of stairs, all the way to her door.

Unlocking the door and cracking it slightly behind her, she turned back to him. "Thank you, for all of this. You really didn't have to, but I appreciate it."

"I'm probably going to regret saying this, but I actually had fun. We should, uh, maybe…" His voice trailed off. It was several start and stop attempts later before he managed to continue. "Maybe we should do it again next week." He stared determinedly down at his shoes, willing her not to laugh at him. Her steady voice brought his gaze back up.

"Yeah, maybe we should." She smiled hopefully at him and when he nodded back, they both took it as an agreement to do exactly that. She had turned part way to her door when something seemed to stop her. Rotating back to him, she hesitated for just a moment before rising to her tip-toes and giving him a light kiss on the cheek. Blushing, she hurried inside, shutting the door behind her quietly.

The grin that had appeared on Gibbs' face when she kissed him didn't dissipate as he stared at her now closed door. Reaching out a hand, he trailed it lightly down the center of the wood entrance before him. "Goodnight, Katie." Spinning around he made his way back to the car, already counting the hours until 1900 the next Thursday.

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**A/N: **The next chapter will be up when it's up and will contain their second dancing excursion. Can't tell you anything else since I haven't written it yet. My KIBBS Halloween fic will probably get posted before more of this. It's partway there. Please let me know what you thought.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:** Hey guys, I'm sorry that it has taken so long for me to get this next chapter to you, but this week has been hectic at best. Four tests in four days is not the best way to stay sane.

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The next week passed by with an amazing lack of awkwardness between the two of them. They each slipped easily back into the normal flow of the job, both seeming to silently and independently decide that work was work and whatever went on outside of work didn't get brought to the office. This agreement was made easier by the fact that neither really knew or understood what was going on.

To any outside observer, they had gone on a date. They'd gotten dressed up, gone out dancing, had a great time, he'd driven her home and asked for a second date, and she'd given him a goodnight kiss. That was a date. At least for most people it was a date. Kate and Gibbs were much less convinced of the fact.

Despite a mutual desire to see the evening as more, in both their minds it was two friends spending some time together outside the office. He had been trying to help her through a tough situation and she had been eager to take her mind off her latest dating disaster. But in reality they both knew that it had been more, that their feelings went deeper than just friendship. However, as the week drew by without a mention of that night, Kate began to worry that for him it hadn't been more.

Their case load for the week had been ridiculously light. Two murders, both of which had been solved for them by the perpetrators themselves within 24 hours. One who had confessed to the police when the guilt became too much and the other who confessed to everyone in the suicide note found with his body. Which is why, mid-afternoon on Thursday, with a long weekend just hours away, Tony made a crack about taking off early.

"It's not like we have anything better to do. Hell I've even finished my paperwork." He leaned back in his chair, waiting for Gibbs to tell him to get back to work. When he instead received a shrug and nod from the older man, he almost fell out of the chair. Not one to look a gift house in the mouth, he immediately grabbed his stuff and headed out, McGee right on his heels. Kate had not noticed the exchange, too caught up in an attempt to create a profile on their murderer/suicide for her report. It wasn't until she'd grown frustrated at reading the note a dozen times that she finally looked up.

After a confused look around the near empty bullpen, she turned to Gibbs. "Where is everyone?"

Knowing that he really should lecture her on her lack of observation, he instead gave her a tight smile and turned back to his own paperwork as he replied. "Went home already, they'd finished their reports and there wasn't much point in keeping them here."

She nodded briefly, wondering if she too should take off. His lack of comment about the previous week's activity had been gnawing at her for days and it was starting to manifest itself as very real unhappiness. Neither of them had actually committed to the second dance lesson, it had just been a maybe. Just as she had started to convince herself that he had decided to forget about the whole thing, his voice drew her back to the present.

"You can take off as well, Kate, not much to do here." She looked over at him, trying to read the impenetrable expression on his face. Just as she was about to give up, he grinned before he continued to speak. "I'm sure you have plans for the evening." And just like that the worry she'd felt for the last seven days disappeared and she gave him a mischievous smile.

"Actually I do." She stood and began pulling her things together. "I'm going dancing with this guy I know." She thought she saw an unreadable emotion pass across his face as she spoke, but when she turned fully towards him, it was gone, replaced by the sexy smile that never failed to make her weak at the knees.

"Dancing, huh? Well than you should take off. You'll have to get ready after all. I'm sure he's taking you out to dinner first." The raised eyebrow conveyed his question and he waited anxiously, despite the calm exterior, for her to say yes. After all she hadn't originally agreed to that and he worried that she would think he was taking whatever this was too far.

The sparkle in her eye as she responded set his mind at ease. "Actually I don't think he ever said anything about dinner, but it sounds like a good idea to me."

He grinned widely at her, but when he spoke again his voice was serious and left no room for debate about whom they were speaking. "I'm sure he's taking you out to dinner first." The flash of desire that shot through his eyes as he spoke almost knocked Kate off her feet, but she regained her composure quickly.

"Well then I need to go get ready." With a small smile to him, she turned and headed out of the bullpen. The elevator doors opened immediately and stepping in she hit the button for the ground floor. Just as the doors began to close, a hand stopped them. Holding the doors wide, Gibbs spoke softly, his tone gentler than she'd ever heard from him.

"I'll pick you up at six, okay?"

She nodded enthusiastically at him before blushing and looking down at her shoes. She only looked up again as she heard him retreat and the elevator doors close. With a sigh and a smile, she sank back against the wall, mind already busy trying to pick out the perfect outfit for the evening.

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Four hours after he'd picked her up, they arrived back at her apartment door and Kate honestly couldn't remember large parts of the evening. Certain key events stood out distinctly in her mind, but they seemed to block out all but a vague memory of the rest of the night.

She vaguely remembered getting showered and dressed for the evening; taking almost an hour to decide on an appropriate dress. But she couldn't recall how many other outfits she'd tried on or how much time she'd spent considering different perfume choices. She does remember having just smoothed out the last wrinkle in her knee-length, red, off-the-shoulder dress when he knocked. And she vividly recalls opening the door and losing the ability to breathe as she took him in. Black slacks, black long-sleeve button up, silver tie. She was severely inclined to say to hell with dinner and dancing and pull him in to her apartment to seduce him. From the way he was looking her up and down she doubts that it would have been difficult. But than there was the voice in the back of her mind reminding her that it would be best not to scare him off.

She only indistinctly remembers anything about dinner, though she's sure that the food was excellent and the conversation relaxed and comfortable.

She does remember stumbling as she got out of the car at the dance studio and his strong arms keeping her upright, hands clenched firmly on her hips. His eyes looked down on her with such an incredible combination of caring and desire that she again lost the ability to breathe.

She has a hazy recollection of Gibbs picking up the swing dances faster than she did and of his teasing voice as he pointed the fact out to her. She kind of remembers thinking that swing wasn't nearly as good as slower dances since she didn't get to spend as much time in his arms. But she definitely remembers how it felt when he dipped her low at the end of the last dance and about being completely lost in his gaze as he righted her. She knows with an absolute certainty that both their heart rates increased and that his eyes shifted at least twice from her eyes to her lips as his hand tightened around her waist. And she angrily retains the knowledge that the moment was abruptly cut off by the instructor telling the class about next week's lesson.

She doesn't really have any memory of the silent car ride back except that it was a comfortable quiet rather than an awkward one. But she does have the heat of his hand on her back as he walked her to her door permanently imprinted on her mind.

And once they were back at her door she knew with certainty that she didn't want the night to end, but also knew that she wouldn't stop it from coming to a close. The two nights she had spent with him outside the office had cemented in her mind that the feelings she had extended way past the gruff boss to the man himself and she didn't want to rush anything and risk everything.

She unlocked the door and turned back to face him. "This has been great; maybe we can do it next week too?" Her voice was uncertain, but sincere, and he caught the slight fear in her tone.

"Definitely." Unlike the week before there was no returned maybe, no vague possibility of another night out; it was acertainty. She smiled brightly at his confidence. She moved to enter her apartment, but a gentle hand on her arm stopped her and for a third time that evening she stopped breathing as he leaned down and placed a light kiss on her cheek. "Goodnight, Katie."

She couldn't help the blush that colored her cheeks and she merely nodded in response before entering her apartment. Setting her purse on the table by the door she heard his steps retreat down the hall. Laying a hand against the wood, she released a sigh and whispered to the quiet room. "Goodnight, Jethro."

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**A/N: **I hope you guys liked this. I really enjoyed writing the second half more than any other story part before. It was kind of an exercise in the use of synonyms; there are only so many way of saying remembered. Hope it worked. I'm looking to have the rest of the story (two more chapters) posted by Sunday night (CST) and I will definitely have at least one done by then.

**And now I have a favor to ask of you all:** I'm writing (well more like thinking about writing at this point) another story. It is NCIS but it's not ship of any kind and I need something from you all. What is **ONE** thing that a person does at a coffee shop besides order coffee? It doesn't have to be with ordering or being served, but just anything. I'm not giving any other explanation, but I hope you'll help me out. Thanks a bunch.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N:** Thank you all so much for the reviews and the great coffee house ideas. If you have any other thoughts on what people do in a coffee shop besides getting coffee, let me know. In the meantime here's the next chapter. I know I said I was going to try and get both this one and the next one up, but its not happening...I hope you can all be content with just this one for another day or so.

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The next week could not have been more different than the one before it. The three day weekend had given Kate and Gibbs a chance to really think about what they were doing and how much they wanted it to work. Despite independent desires for more in the relationship, both of them worried that it might be one sided and decided to continue as they were: slow.

However, despite that decision things at work changed slightly. Around the team and other agents everything was as it had always been: Gibbs was boss and Kate was his subordinate. The few times they were alone there was a very definite change. The occasional elevator ride, running into each other in the break room, or driving to a crime scene, they both noticed the relaxed interaction. Neither of them specifically mentioned the previous two Thursdays, but the memories were still there.

It was during one of these random moments in time late Thursday afternoon, when Gibbs finally said something. Kate had made her way to the break room to dump out the last few mouthfuls of cold coffee from her mug before taking off and Gibbs had followed shortly after, supposedly in search of a candy bar from the vending machine. After checking to make sure no one else was around he spoke to her back.

"Hey." He smiled as she jumped lightly, having not noticed him enter with her back to the door.

"I wish you wouldn't do that." She responded turning to him and shaking her head ruefully.

"Sorry." His voice was sincere, but his grin suggested that he was anything but sorry. He continued on without pause, his tone steady despite his anxiously beating heart. "I have a meeting with the Director at 1700 that's likely to run long. How about I pick you up at 1830 and we can get a late dinner after?"

She nodded her affirmative and was just about to speak when another agent wandered in. Finishing with her mug and putting it on the rack to dry, she headed out, pausing just long enough next to Gibbs to whisper a reply to his earlier inquiry. "I'll see you tonight."

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By the time Gibbs' meeting with Director Morrow ended and he had the opportunity to run home and get quickly changed he was running several minutes late. Sprinting up the steps to Kate's floor he took just a moment to compose himself before knocking. He'd been fully prepared to offer an apology for his tardiness, but the sight of her as she opened the door effectively removed every coherent thought from his head.

Partly because he was running late and partly because he really disliked wearing ties, he'd chosen to dress more casually than the previous two times. His dress shoes and slacks were still paired with a dress shirt, but he had opted to forgo the jacket or tie and had left the top two buttons of the shirt undone. Surprisingly her appearance matched his semi-casual choices. Instead of a more formal dress she'd chosen a light blue skirt and simple white top for the evening and had changed her work heels for plain flat sandals. She'd curled her hair into loose twists and had pulled all but a few tendrils up into a ponytail.

It took him several start and stop attempts before he could form a coherent sentence as he took in her appearance. After what seemed to Kate like a lifetime he finally spoke, bringing a blush and shy smile to her face. "You look beautiful." Giving her a final once-over, he offered his arm. "Shall we?"

They arrived at the studio only just in time for the lesson to begin and were startled to discover that rather than learning new dances as they had the previous nights, the evening would be an open session, allowing them to work on what they wanted to without constant interruption from the instructor. Gibbs barely gave Kate the chance to set her purse down before he pulled her out on the floor.

Two hours later, they had just finished a disastrous run through a waltz, which Gibbs had forgotten most of the steps to, when a new arrival caught their attention. Gibbs noticed him first, almost a full minute before Kate did. He was tall, though still lacking at least a couple inches on Gibbs, with dark brown hair and eyes. He was also alone and Gibbs had immediately noticed his focus on Kate, but he ignored it until he heard Kate's shocked gasp. She turned away from him and from the view she'd had over his shoulder.

Moving swiftly around her so that he could see her, Gibbs looked down at her. His voice was worried and compassionate as he asked her what was wrong. In contrast her voice shook with a mixture of anger and confusion when she responded. "The guy that just came in? That's Brian."

"The asshole you broke up with a couple of weeks ago?" Gibbs could see just how uncomfortable the whole situation was making her, and when she nodded in answer to his question, he understood why. He took a quick glance over Kate's head at the guy. _So that's the moron who decided that having Kate wasn't enough, what an idiot._ The thought traveled unbidden through his mind even as he looked back down at Kate. "Do you want to go?"

His concerned voice brought her back to the events that had transpired since that night when Gibbs found her at the office and the memories put a huge smile on her face. Suddenly feeling much more comfortable with the bizarre situation she gave Gibbs a bright smile. "No, I want to stay and dance with you." The words conveniently coincided with a shift in the music to a slow, seductive piece. Wrapping her arms around his neck, Kate leaned into his body, burying her face in his chest. Taken by surprise, but not one to complain he wrapped an arm around her waist while reaching up and grasping one of her hands in his own. For the rest of the song they swayed together, each completely lost in the other until Gibbs felt a hand on his shoulder as the last notes faded away and a fast swing number took its place.

Turning, still holding loosely to Kate, Gibbs discovered that the hand belonged to Brian and was immediately struck with an almost overwhelming desire to punch him. Controlling his more irrational impulses, he raised a questioning eyebrow at the other man.

"I was hoping that I could have a dance with Kate." His face was open and honest and if Gibbs hadn't spent the last 14 years interrogating liars he might have been fooled by the expression. But underneath the polite façade Gibbs read anger and jealousy. Stepping just slightly aside so that he and Kate were shoulder-to-shoulder, he responded.

"Well, that's really up to Kate, but personally I'm hoping she tells you to go to hell." Despite the rude words, his voice was light and careless and he turned a smiling face on the woman in question. Just as easily as Gibbs could read Brian, Kate could read Gibbs. She saw that despite the easy exterior he was waiting uncertainly, as though he actually thought she would say yes. Giving him a reassuring smile she turned to Brian.

"No thanks. I want to dance the last song with the man I came with." Without waiting for either man's response she pulled Gibbs around to face her and promptly forgot about the other man, as her usually gruff boss chuckled deeply before spinning her out and falling quickly into the quick steps of the swing number.

As the last notes fell away and the instructor announced the last class for next week, Gibbs noticed that Brian had apparently not taken the hint. Slinging an unexpected and very possessive arm around Kate's shoulder, he led her quickly out of the studio. One last glance at the entrance showed the other man standing dejectedly against the door frame, finally seeming to give up.

Dinner after was a light and laughing meal at a local Chinese place. Neither Gibbs nor Kate mentioned her ex's unexpected appearance and as they sank into the friendly and relaxed conversation the incident slipped out of their minds.

As had been true the last two times, Gibbs walked Kate to her door. Waiting for her to unlock the door and turn back to him, Gibbs made a serious decision. When she was facing him again, he acted before he could talk himself out of it.

"Goodnight, Katie." His whisper filled the air just before his lips descended onto hers. The kiss was light and sweet, forceful enough to remove any possibility of it being platonic, but undemanding and tender. He made no move to deepen the kiss and pulled back after only a few seconds. "Same time next week?"

She nodded an affirmative, only slightly shaken by the welcome kiss. "It's a date. Goodnight, Jethro." The sound of his name on her lips was almost enough to undo his decision to build the relationship slowly. He shook off the urge to push her into her apartment and never let her come out again and instead gave her a large grin as she stepped through the doorway and shut the door behind her.

Scrubbing a hand down his face he let out a contented sigh before turning and heading back down the hall. He didn't think that next Thursday could possibly come fast enough.

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**A/N:** I'll try to get the last chapter up as soon as possible, but it still may be as long as 48 more hours. Sorry. On a more positive note (at least for you guys) I have to have knee surgery on Thursday and they aren't going to let me leave the hospital for several days after so on the 15th you can expect a serious in flow of stories from me. Right now I'm up to a total of 16 NCIS plot bunnies that I want to write so...


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N:** Sorry that this took a little bit longer than expected, but life kinda caught up to me. My beta isn't currently available, but I wanted to get this posted, so any errors are all mine. Hope you all enjoy.

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The next week did not pass nearly fast enough for either Kate or Gibbs. A constant heavy caseload kept them busy and moving, giving them all barely enough time to take a breath before the next case was thrown in their laps. At one point it got so bad that the Director was forced to divide the team; Gibbs and McGee handling one case while Tony and Kate handled another.

By Wednesday morning, the only thing any of them wanted was for the work to end and things were looking up as they wrapped up the last couple of details of their most recent case. However, just as Gibbs was about to tell them all to go home and not come back until Friday, his phone rang. Despite serious temptation not to answer, he picked up on the fourth ring and as his conversation only pointed one direction he watched his team's faces fall.

Hanging up, he buried his desire to apologize to them all for more work and put on his usual gruff mask. "Two crew men on the Kitty Hawk just turned up dead. The carrier is on maneuvers in the North Atlantic. Grab your gear; we fly from Norfolk in one hour." Waiting for Tony and McGee to file out of the bullpen before him, Gibbs turned to Kate and gave her a small apologetic shrug. They were both well aware of how long it was possible to get stuck on an Aircraft carrier for, and it was looking more and more like they would be nowhere near the dance studio the next night.

By the time Saturday morning rolled around, the team was more than happy to be boarding their transport off the Kitty Hawk. The case had been ridiculously difficult. Two men found dead in the mess hall of a ship that carries 6000 people and yet no one even bothered to call NCIS until almost 18 hours later. And once they had arrived on board not a soul was talking to them. The crew had, by their own admission, moved the bodies twice after they were discovered and, to round everything else out, the skipper seemed to have a very serious problem with Gibbs personally and wasn't lending any support.

As far as Kate was concerned the only good thing that had come of the entire trip was ten minutes on Thursday night. She had gone out on to one of the balconies overlooking the flight deck. There were no night operations and the ship was unusually calm. Leaning on the railing she gazed out at the ocean. Her ears, which had long been attuned to his particular footfalls, easily picked up Gibbs' steps as he came up the stairs behind her.

He paused at the top of the stairs, taking the opportunity to just look at her. She sighed gently as the wind whipped some of her hair across her face and he moved up to stand beside her at the rail. Leaning forward he grinned when she didn't pull away from where his shoulder brushed against hers.

"Well this isn't exactly how I'd planned on spending the night." His voice was quiet and even, but Kate could hear the unspoken apology in his voice. Her mouth quirked up slightly at the fact that he was apologizing for something he had no control over and the grin widened at his next statement. "But I am enjoying the company."

She turned her head to gaze at him. "Yeah?"

Feeling her eyes on him, he stared out at the water for another moment before shifting so he faced her completely, his hip resting on the railing. She copied his motions and was only taken aback for a moment by his closeness. His hand covered hers on the railing as he responded. "Yeah." He was well aware that the moment was almost sappily romantic, but ever since he had kissed her a week before, all he could think about was doing it again.

The sudden appearance of Tony made them step apart, but Gibbs held her gaze for several seconds longer before turning to ask the younger agent what he had.

A day and a half later they finally left, and that was only after they, or rather Ducky, had gotten an incredibly lucky break during the autopsy. All Kate could think of as she sank into the seat of the transport was how much she was looking forward to a nice hot bath and going to sleep early in her own bed.

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She had just snuggled up in pjs and a tank top on the couch with a good book when there was a knock on the door. Releasing a heavy sigh she ignored it, hoping that whoever it was would assume she wasn't home. Another, more persistent knock, put an end to that hope and she rose to answer it, every trace of annoyance dropping away when she discovered who it was.

He was dressed more casually than Kate could remember ever seeing him before. Plain blue jeans hung loosely on his trim hips and his black t-shirt hugged tight enough to show off his toned chest and abs. He made no move to hide his appreciative glance up and down her body, pausing to take in the two inches of skin shown off by the low-riding pajama bottoms and the midriff baring tank. Taking his appearance in just as readily, she waited until his eyes were back on hers before stepping back to let him in.

Gibbs gave her a gentle smile before entering. The main living area was clean and tidy, with a distinctly Kate feel to it. The furniture was kept against walls, creating a more open and large feeling to the small space. After a quick glance about the place he turned back to face her. The almost distraught look on her face confused him and he raised a questioning eyebrow at her as she walked past him into the living room. Slumping down on the couch she gave him a slight pout before speaking.

"Please tell me that this isn't about another case. The Director said we were off until Tuesday." Her whining tone brought a large grin to his face and he chuckled lightly before replying.

"Nope, no case. You still get to sleep in tomorrow."

"Thank god. You had me really worried there for a moment." Sitting up straighter on the sofa, she seemed to suddenly realize the unusualness of his presence in her apartment. Despite their growing relationship and her more than willingness to have him stay she couldn't help but give him a confused smile. "So why are you here?"

His answer was a slow, sexy smile as he turned and moved to her stereo. He pulled a CD case out of his back pocket as he spoke. "Well…I was kinda hoping that you'd let this be a raincheck for that dancing thing we were supposed to do." Her heart fluttered in her chest as he gave her a small smile over his shoulder before hitting the play button. The opening notes of a slow, romantic jazz piece drifted through the speakers as he walked back over to the couch and offered her his hand.

Kate didn't have to think for even a second before placing her hand in his and standing. Bringing their clasped hands to his chest he wrapped his arm around her waist. Snaking her hand up to his shoulder she leaned into him, allowing herself to become completely lost in the music, and their light sway, and in him.

Breathing in the scent that she had long learned to associate with him, she pulled away from his body to look up at him. Taking the same initiative that he had during their last night out, she used her free hand to pull his lips down to hers. His response was passionate and immediate as the tip of her tongue swiped across his bottom lip. She tasted sweet and delicate, and their tongues tangled for several moments before they both pulled slowly away. Placing a quick kiss on her forehead, Gibbs pulled her to him and continued their dance.

The CD had just begun its second loop through when Kate let out a loud yawn. She'd been trying to hold it back for almost half an hour, but three short nights of restless sleep on a hard bunk was finally catching up to her. Half afraid that she would fall asleep where she stood, Gibbs lightly kissed her hair before turning her firmly around and leading her to her bedroom.

Noting that she was already partly asleep as she climbed into bed, he pulled the blanket up around her, allowing himself the rare opportunity to watch her soft features as she fell asleep. Standing from his precarious position on the edge of the bed, he turned off the lamp next to him and had begun moving toward the door when a soft hand grasped his wrist.

Her voice was heavy and slightly slurred by exhaustion. "Stay Gibbs…Please."

It was the pouting sound of the please that got to him. Releasing a light sigh, he quickly toed off his shoes and very willingly settled himself behind her. Giving into the fantasy he'd had for almost a year, he slung an arm over her waist and pulled her against him. He was amazed at how tired he felt now that he was lying down. Taking a deep breath of the Kate scent that enveloped him, he allowed himself to drift off to sleep.

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The warm, dawn light creeping in through the bedroom window woke Kate slowly. As she made her way leisurely to consciousness she smiled at the feeling of a hand lightly stroking her side. Her mind replayed the events of the previous night, and she sighed happily at the vague recollection of asking Gibbs to stay and his immediate acquiescence.

Feeling Kate wake in his arms was like a dream come true and when he heard her light sigh he pressed a warm kiss to her neck before rolling her over. The motion put a slight distance between them and he stared into her eyes for a short time before speaking.

"Hey. Sleep well?" He grinned as she gave a short yawn and a nod before replying.

"Yeah. My bed was definitely more comfortable than it has been in the past." His mouth twitched in a slight smirk that she chose to ignore as she continued. "Wouldn't mind a few more hours though. What time is it?"

He reached over and gently brushed a loose hair behind her ear. He was happy that there didn't seem to be any awkwardness between them and his brain echoed her earlier sentiment of a more comfortable sleeping arrangement than usual. He couldn't remember a time when he'd slept as well. He gave her a light smile and she was surprised at the amount of love she read in his eyes. She smiled softly back at him, allowing the same emotion to show on her own features as he responded. "0730."

She yawned again. "And there's no case so I still get to sleep in, right?" He grinned as he nodded an affirmative. "Good." Closing the small distance between them, she snuggled into his chest as his arm wrapped tight around her. He barely caught her last whisper as she drifted off again. "Morning, Jethro."

Settling himself deeper in the pillows, he gently caressed the exposed skin on her back. "Morning, Katie." He kissed her hair before letting sleep once again claim him as well.

**THE END**

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**A/N: **And that's all. At least for now. I'm seriously considering doing a sequel that would be posted in the Adult Section on http://p104. but it might be a while. Hope you all enjoyed and please tell me what you think. This was just me trying to write a story about a KIBBS relationship growing slowly over the course of a month or so (most of my stories take place during the space of a couple of hours) and I hope I succeeded.

And for the one person that complained that there wasn't enough of them dancing (and you know who you are) I would just like to say that the story is not about the physical dancing, but rather the emotional dance in their minds and hearts. The dance lessons were just a good metaphoric vehicle for the broader theme. And now I'm starting to sound like my English prof. so...


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